Can suffering be a catalyst for positive personal growth?

 I was recently interviewed by Mina Blair for her podcast MatChat.  Here's a link to that interview.

Can suffering be a catalyst for positive personal growth? with Baruch Zeichner

Belief - to Believe

Believe - From Middle English beleven, from Old English belēfan, from be- + lȳfan, lēfan to allow, believe; akin to Old High German gilouben to believe, Old English lēof dear 

How many times do we say or hear "I believe..." and what role does belief, as an action, play in the state of civility in society?

Basically it means that a belief is "something I hold dear."  We like our beliefs.  We are attached to our beliefs.  We defend them and even offer them to others, sometimes forcefully. Belief is something humans engage in.  "To Believe" is a verb, Belief is a noun. They are the product of Mind. The self-aware conscious mind that humans have makes belief inevitable.  We have experiences which inform our beliefs, and, we share ideas with each other.

Religions are sets of beliefs, but not all beliefs are religious.  Belief is the lens through which we see the world, through which we see ourselves. We have a choice, always, about what we believe.  We don't always know we have that choice. Beliefs, enacted, have consequences, sets things in motion. We see this in our politics.  We see this in our physical health and sense of well-being.

If we are to stop killing each other and become something better, frankly, then we currently are, we must learn to see belief for what it is, a personal choice of a way to see the world.  Not Truth.  Not universal. If each human really is a limitless universe of potential imagination, then it's clearly a fools errand to try to conquer another persons autonomy in any way.  It's absurd.  

We go through our lives interacting with each other, though less these days, but how many of our encounters are really fully present Encounters of the other person? Even if it's a person you're encountering through a bureaucratic function, to exchange some words that acknowledge each others personhood.

I have this idea to create a website where people can go who feel politically polarized and don't want to be polarized, who want to come together with others with a common mission, putting political differences aside. The way it would work is you would go to the website, enter your name and zip code. You would then be matched with others from yours and neighboring zip codes, and with a task that needs doing; a park cleanup, a garden planted, a playground fixed, things that benefit everyone.  The agreement is that by using this service you agree to put politics aside and really give it your all to work with people for the common good. What do you think?

Grief and Emergence

On October 3 my dear friend Zack died.  He was a 15 year old dog who had an amazing life.  He was kind, smart, funny at times, and very very much a person.  His natural body smell was like sugar donuts.  He inspired love in people who don't even like dogs. We were together for just over 10 years, together most days, most of the day, and he slept on my bed at night.  I know his death was approaching, he was old for a dog and a few months after we moved to New Mexico, he started to lose his appetite. He lost weight and became weaker and weaker, and finally it was time.  Horrible, awful, devastating, so so sad; I miss him all the time.

It's been almost 3 months.  I am starting to emerge from the depression of grieving for Zack.  Yesterday I went for a hike and today I worked out.  First time for both since Zack died.

2021 has been a year of grieving for our world, for the biosphere which humans continue to destroy, for the bare minimum of human decency which is being shredded by fascists, for all those suffering under the yoke of imperialist violence, for all the animals being mistreated by humans, etc etc.  I could go on and on.

I have never been one to deny my feelings, so I feel sadness and frustration about all of this.  I feel it every day.  I am not the only one, by far.

We really are all in this together. I am not a Christian by any means but when Jesus is quoted to have said "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me" that quote resonates with me big time.  Until humanity matures and stops giving power to narcissists and other psychopaths, we will continue on this destructive path.  

Most humans are not narcissists, but we keep electing these psychopaths to seats of power.  They make promises and people buy into it, even after being deceived over and over.  Politicians are Lucy with the football and the voters are Charlie Brown. Don't you wish Charlie Brown would just walk away from Lucy, just once? It is the rest of us who keep electing these psychologically malformed persons, that need to mature, to stop looking for solutions from people in power and instead to insist that they actually be in service to the common good.  

May 2022 be a year of enlightenment for us all!

Uncertainty and Anxiety

 We live in uncertain times.  Covid, political unrest, climate change, all big issues that concern all of us because they threaten our well-being.  Humans instinctually do what it takes to survive, or at least what we think will allow us to survive.  Right now our survival faces threats that are biological and social, and these overlap.  The Corona Virus presents the most obvious threat to our survival, but since it has been politicized in some countries, like the US, there is overlap between the biological and the political.  Likewise climate change threatens our lives, and the politicization of climate change creates overlap again.  In other words, these three things all overlap in a Venn Diagram.  The point is that yes it is real, threats to human survival exist.

Humans are sensitive creatures.  We perceive with our physical senses and we perceive with our emotional senses.  We detect emotions in ourselves and others, and our emotions are often in response to our experiences.  We experience emotions regarding the threats I outlined above.  

If you are having emotional responses, if any aspects of our reality cause you to feel sad, or angry, or afraid, you might also be feeling some anxiety.  Anxiety is one of your body's natural responses to stress. It's a heightened state wherein your adrenal glands are activated, fueling your mind and body to respond to the stressor.  Sometimes anxiety is like an alarm, sometimes it's like a massive storm.

There are a variety of techniques one can employ to reduce anxiety.  Pharmaceuticals is one.  Nutritional and/or herbal remedies can also be helpful.  Learning to regulate your nervous system through mindfulness and breathing is perhaps the most accessible since it doesn't require a trip to the doctor or the store.

Relaxation & Finding Inner Teachings is a set of three audio recordings which lead the listener through a guided imagery experience designed to reduce anxiety and increase a sense of well-being.  If you have no experience with meditation or guided imagery, these are a great place to start.

If you are someone who already knows how to meditate or engage in deep relaxation, these tools can help you to reduce anxiety.  Knowing how to do something and remembering to do it, however, are two different things.  I encourage you to remember the tools you have, and to use them. You may already have at your disposal methods to make you feel better, even during these uncertain times.